When I sold the Titan and got a sporty car, a 2004 BMW 330Ci, we needed to upgrade the cargo carrying capacity of my wife’s Impreza family vehicle. I installed a hitch and got a hitch mount carrier. We also got a Yakima Skybox 16, which is pretty much the biggest box you can put on the Impreza and still see out the windshield and open the hatch.
My wife and I have an upcoming hunting trip to Wyoming planned for September. It will be on BLM land and the dirt roads can be a bit more challenging that I would be comfortable trying with the Impreza. I have mentioned in some commends before that I was bottoming out on local rutted dirt roads here in Florida trying to access some hunting grounds. This was one reason why we decided to fly and rent a SUV. This is also the impetus for me looking at needs versus wants; I just keep thinking all I really need is more clearance and better tires.
Recently my wife started to ask “what do we do if we finish hunting several days before our return flight?”
I said “keep camping!”
But alas, the mother-in-law, whom I genuinely love, will be watching our 2 year old and our two dogs so my wife would prefer to be able to come back home sooner if able. I said that if we drove we could start the trip home as soon as we finished hunting if we wanted and she liked that prospect. But that it would require more ground clearance, some protection and better tires; turning the Impreza into a Crosstrek.
I know what you might be thinking - why not just sell the Impreza and get a Crosstrek? Well, the main thing is that a similar year and mileage Crosstrek is still several thousand more than what my Impreza is worth. For much less than the cost of swapping I can get pretty much the same clearance and tire size on better wheels and tires with added armor as well. In hindsight, if we knew we were going to sell the Titan we would have bought the Crosstrek, but life doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t seem to be worth the swap unless they decided to release a Crosstrek WRX … (also, my wife doesn’t like changing cars and don’t like big vehicles).
On to the modification plans:
Anderson Design & Fab 2” strut spacer lift - $510
Primitive Racing skid plates - front and rear diff - $399
New wheels and tires - $1000-1200, probably a bit more if I go with a full size spare
It is amazing how much less expensive this stuff is for smaller vehicles. My last set of BF Goodrich T/A KO2s for the Titan was $1100 JUST FOR THE TIRES and here I can get new wheels and tires for the same money.
Wheel size is what is the hardest for me. 15” gives me the most sidewall and still fits over the brakes. 16” has a few more available tires in sizes that fit, but I’m not sure I really need the extra choices. There are a couple of other 15” tires that might fit, but I don’t know. I know what this guy on ExPo has been able to fit without rubbing. As far as wheels go I don’t really know where to start, but Anderson Design recommended Method 502s. The guy on ExPo is running stock steel 15" will +48 offset. The Methods are +15 so theoretically I have a bit more room to work with if I go with those.
Whatever wheels I end up with I’m tempted to keep the stock wheels and tires and run those most of the time for gas mileage and only swap on the all terrains for dedicated trips
Sure, this whole set up isn’t as bad ass as the vehicles you guys have and won’t go all the places, but I think it will do quite a bit. It should net close to 8-9” of ground clearance on the Impreza, though someone on Expedition Portal said they got just under 10” with these mods. We will see.
Let me know if you have any wheel knowledge!